Scottish Energy Policy Based On Wishful Thinking Not Reality

A panel of Scotland’s leading engineers says an “irrational” plan by the country’s government to shut down more than half of its electricity generating capacity in the coming years would leave it reliant on imported energy.

The government, under the Scottish National Party (SNP), plans to close 55 percent of its current generating capacity during the next eight years without offering a “clearly articulated vision for the future” and ensuring a “resilient supply” of electricity, according to the Scottish committee of the British Institution of Civil Engineers (ICE).

Energy policy in Scotland is the purview of Parliament in London because the country is part of the United Kingdom. Still, the SNP, which controls Scotland’s planning system, has acted unwisely in its effort to promote renewable energy.

The party says it hopes the country can generate most of its electricity through clean sources, particularly wind power, by 2020. As part of its program, the SNP has blocked construction of new nuclear power plants in the country and fostered the development of wind turbines, which are clean and safe but don’t provide a consistent flow of power.

The 8,000-member Scottish committee of ICE said the SNP’s energy policy could lead to a country forced to rely on imported electricity. Instead, it said, Scottish ministers should accept “independent, scientific, expert advice” and consider a variety of energy sources, including nuclear power and onshore gas as well as wind energy.

The chairman of ICE’s Scottish committee, Gary Pender, said the government's decision was based on faulty logic. “We need to move beyond this at times irrational and ill-informed discourse about all these forms of energy generation and conduct a thorough, expert-informed assessment of the right approach for Scotland,” he said.

Pender said it’s time for the governments in both Edinburgh and London to base energy policy on “evidence and resilience, not on emotion and politics.” Otherwise, he said, “Scotland will transition from being a net exporter to being a net importer of electricity.”

The energy spokesman for the opposition Conservative Party in the Scottish Parliament, Murdo Fraser, was blunt in his criticism of the SNP policy. “This is a significant intervention from a well-respected expert industry group – and the SNP will have to listen,” he said.

“Instead of pandering to the green lobby, ministers have a responsibility to keep the lights on and make sure energy prices are low,” Fraser said. “The SNP should swallow its pride, forget about impressing its new socialist members, and bring forward a balanced energy policy.”

A Scottish government spokesman, speaking anonymously as is the custom in Britain, defended the SNP policy. “Scotland’s abundant energy resources play a vital role in delivering security of electricity supply across the UK – Scotland exported 28 per cent of all electricity generated in 2013,” he said.

“We have a clear policy for a balanced energy mix to provide energy security for the future that balances fossil fuels alongside the growing importance of renewables, which again saw record levels of generation last year, and without the need for new nuclear power,” the spokesman said.

Here is a brief explanation of the transmission charge system that unfairly discriminates against Scotland's electricity production investment.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-scotland-politics-29509021

The charges are designed to discourage investment in infrastructure outside the densely populated south east of England. But like all UK government infrastructure policy, this disproportionatly encourages population growth in where there is already overcrowding, and prevents less densely populated areas from gaining infrastructure to stop people leaving.

Lozzie on November 02 2015 said:

"A Scottish government spokesman, speaking anonymously as is the custom in Britain"

Bulls**t.

If Oilprice.com wanted a statement from the Scottish Government from a named person they could just ask them.

One of the things I like about Oilprice.com is the range of opposing articles on a single subject. For the subject of energy policy in Scotland it is important to consider the following:

Disproportionately high connection charges imposed on electricity producers in Scotland to connect to the UKs national grid. And the regulator's (Ofgem) acknowledgement of this but failure to do anything about it. In other parts of the UK electricity producers are paid a subsidy to connect to the grid.

Longannet Power station is due to close due to transmission charges.

Longannet was due to get funding from the UK government and private investment to develope Carbon Capture and Storage. But the UK government pulled out at the last moment. That was the second time the UK government pulled out of such a project at the last minute in Scotland. Scotland is ideally suited to developing CCS, given the low price of gas at the moment this is a missed opertunity out with the control of the Scottish government.

The UK is dependent on buying new Nuclear know how from the French and the Chinese. The UK government have secured a price per KW for a new build in England that is about the same as onshore wind (including wind subsidies). Even if the Scottish government granted planning permission for new nuclear, the cost would be way more expensive compared to onshore wind once you include the high connection charges the UK imposes on Scotland.

Lee James on November 01 2015 said:

Scotland thinks they can be like Denmark and Germany. I hope they can!